This Night

Chapter 206

Author's Note: Yes I know I should be checking up on the group I sent to an unknown town in an unknown place, but man our group just want to love on Hope and Judith and reunite. I mean who can blame them? Seriously they NEVER talked about what happened to them….they just don't get over something like that. But you aren't complaining right? You've learned by now with me, that bonding and character building are a biggie with me! Vacation in a week. Review please.

Daryl, Carl and Jewel's POV:

Daryl walked in to the bedroom and nodded to Carl. "How long has she been asleep?" he asked.

"Just a few minutes," Carl answered. "I've been checking on her temperature, it seems to be steady," he said as he adjusted Judith.

"Hey little ass kicker," Daryl greeted as he kissed the top of her head. "I'll sit with her," he told the teen.

Carl nodded as he stood up. "Do you think she'll be ok?" he asked as he nodded to Jewel.

Daryl nodded. "She's a fighter," he answered. "She's got all us watchin' out for her, and she aint no quitter. Now go on and take Lil Asskicker downstairs to get acquainted with Hellraiser. Merle nicknamed her," he said. "Now don't make me tell you again," he told the teen as he watched him walk out the door and close it behind him. He sat down on the side of the bed and nudged Jewel's foot. "You can stop fakin' now," he told her.

Jewel turned over, opened up her eyes and looked at him. "Could never fool you."

"Yeah, you never learned to fake snore. Aint never been a time that you aint been snoring since the day you were born," Daryl teased her.

"Very funny," Jewel said as she sat up. "Can't sleep…"

"Been hell the past few days," Daryl agreed with her as he wrapped his arms around her. "Somethin's bothering you, spill it," he ordered.

"What would be bothering me Daryl? It's just another day with the dead wanting to eat us," Jewel answered sarcastically. "Wait, now we have the living wanting to eat us," she added. "I almost lost you today…Rick…Glenn…Bob. And I froze. Every time I close my eyes, that's what I see….that I almost lost all of you and there was nothing I could do," she replied, almost in tears. "They picked you and Rick because of me, and it would have been my fault if you two had died."

Daryl hugged her closer. "Hey, listen to me, that was not your fault," he told her as he lifted her face to his. "Look at me, Jewel. That wasn't on you, that wasn't your fault. I know you're feelin' guilty, it's what us Dixon's do. Merle calls me the soft hearted one, but you were the one who always felt things deeper. Always blamed yourself for things that weren't your fault."

"So you don't blame yourself for Beth? Or what almost happened with the group you were in?" Jewel asked as she wiped her eyes.

"Didn't say that," Daryl answered. "But it aint my fault, any more then this was yours. Or the Governor's was Rick's. We all got out alive, better then those ass holes at Terminus. Better then Joe and his men. We'll find Beth, then the whole family will be back together," he informed her.

"Merle is out there, with Joey, Mar, Bob, Sasha and Rosita. They are risking there lives for me, in an unknown town, in an unknown place, with unknown risks," Jewel informed him.

"If it was any of them, what would you do? Would you be sittin' on your ass and waitin' til day light? No, you'd be doin' the same thing they are. Now, would you stop being so stubborn and let everyone take care of you and give you all the attention? Don't know how long we are going to be able to hold up here, so you just get rest. Hell raiser is gonna need her momma in tip top health when we get on the move," Daryl told her.

Jewel rolled her eyes. "Hell Raiser…nice. Move to where? Where do we go from here?"

"Where ever it is, we'll be together. Lay down and try to rest. Carol is makin' you some tea, Ronnie is gonna come check you out again in a bit," Daryl told her. "I'm right here, Rick is downstairs, Glenn is here, Bob is out with Merle. We're all alright. You just try to sleep before Hell Raiser needs you," he told her.

"Her name is Hope, Daryl. Hope," Jewel insisted.

Carl, Summer and Rick's POV:

Carl sat Judith down on the rug. "Who is Summer holding? Is that Hope?"

Summer laughed as Judith went to grab Hope. "No, no, you got to be nice, Ladybug. She's a lot smaller then you," she said as she took Judith's hand. "See, nice and easy to baby sister."

Rick leaned on the door of the bedroom. "Wish I had a camera."

"Daryl took over watching mom for me, Summer was changing Hope's diaper, came in here, was going to try and get Judy to sleep," Carl explained.

"But she's to fascinated by Hope to even think about closing her eyes. She's trying to figure out this little person whose smaller then she is," Summer told him.

Rick came and sat down by his children. "I'm proud of the two of you. I couldn't be any prouder of the two of you. I know it's going to be hard now, being out here, with these two. It's a whole different ball game from when Judy was first born, when we had the prison."

"The prison wasn't all that safe in the beginning," Summer reminded him.

"Dad, we're not going to let anything happen to Judy and Hope," Carl added.

"Mika is going to help, she can hold Hope if we come on a heard and I need to fight," Summer told him.

Rick gave a small smile. "The two of you shouldn't be worried about that."

"It's not all on you dad, or mom, or anyone else," Summer assured him.

"Summer and I are the oldest of the kids…and Lexi. We know that you depend on us to make sure they are safe. Summer took a lot of that on her own, starting at the quarry. I'm older now, and she doesn't have to do it herself," Carl told him.

"We know how lucky we got….finding mostly everyone," Summer told him with a sad smile. "We still have to find Beth, get mom alright. Have you heard anything from Uncle Merle and the group on the walkie talkie?" she asked.

Rick shook his head. "I don't know the range that these have on them."

"Has to be a good bit, the one Joey and I took off Claire, she was a good ways away from Terminus," Summer said.

Rick laughed as Judith tried to bend down and put Hope's foot in her mouth to which Hope gave a small cry too. "No, Judy, let's find you something to munch on that isn't your baby sister's foot OK?"

"It's ok Hope, Judy is just trying to say hello," Carl assured her.

Rick laughed. "I think Hope would appreciate if she found a different way to say hi. You've got teeth coming in huh Judith?" he said as he took her. "The two of you OK? You've both been through a lot since the prison. Summer if you ever want to talk, you know I'm here, right?"

"I know Dad. I talked with Michonne…it helped. I'm not ready to repeat it, and I know that you may want me too, but I can't not right now. I did what I had to do, and I've got to work it out with myself, good or bad," Summer said.

Rick nodded as he kissed the top of her head. "I'm here if you need it."

Carl looked at him. "Do you think we'll be alright here for a few days dad?" he asked. "I can take a guard shift."

"No, the two of you get rest while you can. We've got enough adults that can handle it for now," Rick told them. "We're as safe as we can be right now."

"We should have taken the rest of the people from Terminus out," Summer told him. "When Carol and I got out, we saw some of them running. I wanted to go after them, I didn't want to leave them alive, so they could hunt us down like the Governor. Carol wouldn't let me," Summer said.

"I'm glad she wouldn't, that's not you, Summer," Rick told her.

"Yes it is Dad. If they come after us, if they find us, if something happens to Mom or Hope because I didn't finish them off, then that's on me. I was there, I could have ended it," Summer told him.

Carl looked at her. "Then dad may not have been with all four of us, you could have been killed. Dad wanted to go back and finish it off, but he did what was best for all of us at the time. It would have killed mom if you didn't come back, Summer and you know it."

Rick nodded. "You're a lot like your mom, Summer. You take on the guilt and you let it eat at you. I know how that can be. We'll get those bastards. Right now, I want the two of you rest while I find something for Judy to eat that isn't Hope's foot. Take Hope down to Carol or Ty," he told them. "Come on, Judy let's go see if Maggie and Glenn found any good stuff!" he told her as he kissed the top of Judy's head.

Author's Note: Family cuteness with Rick and his 4 kids! I'm not sure if I will get another chapter out before I leave next Monday but I'll try. Review please.